


A Snake Among Rangers: A Multiplanar War

by Poison_Stripes



Category: Magic: The Gathering (Card Game), Metal Gear, Power Rangers
Genre: One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:28:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21855295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poison_Stripes/pseuds/Poison_Stripes
Summary: Lady Snake has survived what will become known as War of the Spark, the final battle fought on the cityscape-covered world of Ravnica. After taking her friend Poison-Stripes to the hospital for emergency medical care on Earth and dropping off her own right arm and eye to Andros for repairs, she has arrived upon Olympus to speak to her father Zeus about what transpired on Ravnica and how she and others like herself were able to avert bringing that conflict to Earth. How will the other gods take this news? Will she want to speak to those who were important in her life as she grew up? And what does this mean for her Rangers and for Eternal Phoenix, the reborn private military company that was once known as Diamond Dogs and Outer Heaven?
Kudos: 1





	A Snake Among Rangers: A Multiplanar War

May 26, 10077, 9:19 AM  
Ravnica, Outside of the Azorius Senate   
Celebrations rang out among the populace of Ravnica as Bolas had finally fallen at the hands of his own servant, who had at the last moment turned against him and used the Eternalized God Bontu to rip out his own spark. Some of the others that were not native to Ravnica had begun planeswalking away back to their own worlds or to others altogether, having been unwillingly brought to the city-world by Ral Zarek's beacon from Nivix.  
On the ground, there were cries of sadness over a fallen man's armor by many people.  
"Ky-Kytheon," spoke a woman as she held onto her friend in heavy armor. "He...oh gods."  
The other woman also wept at the one known as Kytheon's armor, using the name that was more well-known to his comrades. "Rest well, Gideon," she sighed heavily, her fur and scorpion tail beginning to recede.  
Pain was sweeping her body now, her right knee practically destroyed from a pack of roving Eternalized serpopards about a couple hours ago. She was starting to feel weak, her good leg starting to give out underneath her.  
"Hang on, I'm getting you to the hospital, Sergeant," the first woman spoke.  
"Wait a minute," a young man called out as he walked over to where the other two where, his green and blue robes that marked him as a member of the Simic Conclave. "Judy, where are you taking my boss?"  
"Mr. Tan, your boss needs emergency medical care that Earth can provide," said the first woman known as Judy.   
"P-Please Lady Snake, Josho," said the injured warrior as she gripped Judy's left shoulder tightly for strength, having resumed her human form completely.   
"Sergeant Vidal, stay awake just a little longer," Judy spoke, now easily carrying the warrior. "Poison," she addressed her comrade using the other name, "We'll get going shortly."  
Her bionic right arm and right eye's flesh settings had failed completely during the fight, the entire sleeve of her suit torn and exposing her muscled left arm, slashed in places from a razorwhip, an Eternal’s bow and arrows now on her person. There was blood down the front of her purple Galaxy suit from two head injuries that Sergeant Vidal had healed about an hour and a half ago, still keeping previous damage from before she re-morphed. Two of Judy's back molars, however, had gotten knocked out of her mouth during the worst of the conflict and were safely tucked away in a storage compartment of her right arm. Judy's helmet had been used as fodder against the horde of the Eternals, the remaining ones being taken care of by Jaya Ballard and her apprentice Chandra Nalaar in concurrent waves of flame and fire.  
Judy's right arm was not only fully exposed but had also taken some damage as well, as did her shoulder joint where it was connected to the rest of her body. The right side of her face was also swollen, the eye itself having swollen shut and the eye itself also in the same storage compartment as her teeth were. A bandanna that looked well-loved and well-used was on her forehead and a black eyepatch was now over her right eye.   
Her comrade was wearing heavy armor with several interlocking plates and looked very battle-scarred, the right leg of the suit having several deep lines and the kneecap itself was wrapped with gauzes, blood seeping through. It was the only thing she, Judy and Josho could do to keep the right knee together in a pinch.  
Judy nodded to Esther, who nodded back and together, both women planeswalked away, the bandanna-wearing warrior leaving behind tiny ethereal purple lightning bolts on the ground, Poison leaving behind ethereal grapes and crystals.  


May 26th, 2019 11: 17 AM  


Inspira Medical Center – Wildeyard  
Both women arrived in what appeared to be a puff of smoke outside of the ER in Wildeyard, New Jersey. Judy had no choice but to practically carry her friend inside, acting as if this was just an ordinary day in her life.   
"Can I help – Oh, my God. Nurse! Wheelchair!" the male security guard called out behind him as he moved from behind the desk and toward Judy quickly. A stocky tanned-skin man with buzzed sides in light blue scrubs came running out with a black and red light wheelchair, all three helping to get Poison into the wheelchair. Another nurse in the same blue scrubs also walked out with a clipboard and pen in hand.   
"Please get her out of her armor, I need that," Judy said to the nurse. The man nodded and easily figured out how to undo the straps to get her out of it, working quickly as it seemed like Poison would soon pass out from the pain. Meanwhile, Judy spoke to another attending nurse and gave as much information as she could.   
Five minutes later, the battered suit was on the floor in a neat pile next to the wheelchair, the man carefully placing the pieces in three separate bags. Clearly he was familiar with the magical nature of the items and handed them to Judy.   
Another man had come running out, the sleeves of his white coat rolled up to the elbows, his black hair cut short and slicked back at the top as he came running out of his cubby upon hearing the commotion. Upon realizing who it was that was in the wheelchair, he motioned for the male nurse to wheel her back to a room to stabilize her first and foremost.  
Judy felt comforted by the fact her friend was one of many that had survived that hell. Once she had the bags in hand, she told them she would be back around, closed her eyes and planeswalked away, leaving behind coin-sized lightning bolts on the ground.

May 26, 10077, 12:05 PM  
Ravnica, Ninth District, Outside of Poison’s Clinic  
Judy re-entered reality and found herself outside of the clinic once more, the bags in hand and having survived the trip. Counting her lucky stars, she found the young man named Josho comforting a friendly manticore, an artifact creature Poison called a myr, and a very fluffy-looking red fox in the waiting room. The door to the building had been knocked off the jamb itself and was on the ground nearby.  
“Ah, Judy, you’re back. How is she?” he asked immediately.  
“In the hospital as we speak. She’s hurt worse than what we thought. Here,” the Ranger said as she handed the bags over to the guildmage. “She said you would know to take them to the Boros guildmage who made her armor. It needs serious repairs, especially the right leg area.”  
“Oh right, I know the man,” Josho nodded and set the bags down, the animals sniffing them while the myr was looking inside. The myr seemed to know who to get these too, it appeared. “But what about you? Your helmet’s completely gone and your suit’s trashed,” he pointed out. “And let’s not forget your - “  
“Relax, I got it handled,” Judy interrupted calmly. She looked around and breathed a sigh of relief. Not only was the clinic still standing but it seemed like there was minor damage. The same couldn’t be said for Poison’s house, however.  
“Alright,” he replied. “Just don’t be a stranger, as she says it. We like you, Judy.”  
“Good. I like y’all too,” the soldier smiled and planeswalked away from Ravnica, more of the ethereal coin-sized lightning bolts on the ground that disappeared after a moment or two. 

May 26, 2019 2:25 PM  
Angel Grove, Andros and Ashley’s House  
Judy was back on Earth and knew the house she was in front of, going to knock on the door with her left hand. So tired, yet she refused to give into the ever-growing fatigue, the little ethereal bolts disappearing a couple seconds after her arrival. Master Miller would’ve been so proud of her for handling her business before letting herself know rest.  
She rapped on the door a few times, her right arm starting to spazz from the overload of electricity and mana. A tall man with thick blond highlights among a crown of brown hair greeted her and was both relieved and surprised to see her in such a sorry state.  
“Judy,” he spoke as he looked her up and down, taking her appearance in. “What the hell happened to you?”  
“Long story, Andros. Arm and eye need repairs,” she said curtly, getting to the point immediately.  
“Yeah, come in,” he said as she walked in slowly, grunting as she walked inside the house to the living room. He liked to keep his place clean and was careful to not any detritus on his nice clean walnut-stained floor.  
She kept her focus on the plush maroon couch, _Ashley’s choice I bet_ , she thought as she stood by it. Andros closed the door and went over to where his friend was now obviously swaying as she stood. Oh how she would have loved to have taken a well-earned seat on the couch but he would freak out if she got blood and dirt on it, so out of respect she remained standing. She reached up to press a couple areas around her right shoulder to disconnect her still-twitching right arm. Her eyes emitted a soft purple glow as she channeled any remaining electricity away from her right arm, through her torso, down her stomach and out of her left arm, holding the resulting ball of energy the size of a small cup in her left hand, her right arm now still. Looking up, a window had been left open which let a gentle, warm breeze in. Judy casually tossed it outside where it landed, caused some sparks and was no more. She detached her right arm and handed it over to Andros. “Eye’s in there, along with some pieces of material called lazotep. It’s a blue mineral and a bunch of mummies were covered in it. Harvested whatever broke off. My friend Esther’s in the hospital getting a full knee replacement,” Judy spoke, her voice coming out raspy and hoarse. He carefully approached her and lifted the eyepatch, seeing how badly swollen it was.  
“Damn,” he said. “Well, I’m sure we’ll hear all about it later, right?” he said casually and lowered the eyepatch, as if hearing about her missions and adventures were a common occurrence.  
“’Course, man. When you do the repairs, would you try to incorporate that lazotep into the arm and eye? Might make them more resilient when I planeswalk, and it’s pretty.”  
“Yeah, I can do that,” said Andros as he gently set the battered limb on top of the armrest.  
With that, Judy closed her eye and disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
Andros sighed again and shook his head. “Damn it Judy what happened this time,” he wondered aloud as he took the arm to the garage to begin repairs.

May 27, 2019 12:15 AM  
Eternal Phoenix, Command Platform  
“Boss on base!” shouted a soldier in a combat uniform as the shout was repeated by others, Judy re-materializing in the middle of the Command Platform. She was now greeted by several salutes and a warm ocean breeze passing by. The soldiers resumed their patrols soon after.  
“Snake!” spoke a man as he came jogging over to see his commanding officer and his friend looking like she was in a brutal fight, a brown and white husky running over as well.  
“Koda, I need a pomegranate. I’m going to Olympus,” she spoke to her friend, looking up at him with her left eye. He looked back at her puzzled at first but then remembered why. He looked at the closest soldier and nodded at him to carry out her request. The man nodded back and went off to the gardens of the base. She stood in place, closing her eye and feeling the winds hit the exposed areas of her suit. It felt good to not only be home but knowing that her world was safe for now. She reached up to her left ear where her codec was. “What I’m about to tell my father is something I don’t ever care to repeat if I don’t have to. I’m gonna broadcast what I’m gonna say to everyone here and to all my Rangers. Like I told Gosei five years ago, I can’t do the triple life bullshit anymore. It was maddening.”  
Koda understood. Whatever she had gone through had to be severe enough to warrant a base-wide broadcast. A few quiet words and a wave of her left hand over her throat permitted her to speak without the need of a megaphone. The soldier returned with the pomegranate that looked the best to him and gave it to Snake. She nodded to her soldiers and disappeared in another puff of smoke from the base, the dog whining a little as he didn’t get any pets from his master this time.  
In the waters beneath the base, waves churned a little. Poseidon had overheard and knew to go to Olympus. 

May 26, 2019 10:45 PM  
Mount Olympus, Greece  
The warrior reappeared and felt solid marble beneath her feet as she showed up on the tallest mountain in all of Greece, the night sky with the various stars and celestial bodies dancing above. She began to make the trek to the foyer of Olympus proper, mountain air greeting her this time. The marble columns were a familiar and welcoming sight to the weary goddess as she slowly proceeded forward. The gods and goddesses that had seen her enter were taken by surprise by her appearance. “No decorum?” and “What is she doing coming in here like that?” were heard as she walked by. She stopped in front of Hades and Persephone, presenting the pomegranate to the Goddess of Spring. As Persephone took the fruit from her niece, a sudden flash and it was soon sliced in portions for easier eating, two arils missing.  
“Please, it’s important,” Judy spoke wearily after eating the arils.  
“Alright dear,” Persephone spoke back gently as she vanished in a puff of smoke along with the fruit.  
Hades felt pity for what the young goddess of lightning had endured while on Ravnica and helped make sure she was still standing as she approached Zeus in the middle of the circular central hall, the king of the gods siting on his throne and was just as shocked as everyone else was by Judy’s shocking appearance.  
Persephone reappeared what felt like a few minutes later, the undead forms of Big Boss and Zordon now among the audience of the deities. 

“Judith,” spoke Zeus as he stood up from his chair and silenced everyone else with a raise of his hand. “Judith, what brings you to Olympus in such a state? What happened to you?” he asked out of concern, seeming more fatherly before her.  
She would have knelt before him if she were able to, fearing that if she did so would make her collapse from exhaustion. Instead of following custom and protocol, she looked at Zeus, her eye full of determination.  
“I, Judith the goddess of lightning, fire, Power Rangers, guardian of this world, leader of Eternal Phoenix, have come back from battle to help defend our planet from an interplanar threat,” she spoke, a weak divine aura surrounding her form. “I helped put those who had died before on another world back to their eternal rest, I helped innocent people take shelter and helped those I met on Ravnica from other worlds in combat. I fought off zombified creatures of all kinds, even male angels, and helped protect my friends. I took an Oath,” she paused as she raised her left hand as she had done in the rotunda of the Azorius Senate while the aura grew stronger, “That to defeat evil wherever it festers, I will keep watch, for never again will I nor my friend Poison permit such a great and terrible nightmare persist for as long as he did. She also took an Oath for the Gatewatch as well. Her’s was ‘To defend innocent lives and make sure none fight alone, I will keep watch.’” Judy lowered her left hand, explaining that while in combat she used more lightning magic than she ever thought she could, explained how her skills as a strategist and years of experience as a Power Ranger came in handy against the horde of undead. She explained how others like herself had been beckoned to help Ravnica in that world’s hour of need.  
“I earned this bow, the arrows, and the cartouche in my pouch as my war prizes, Father,” she continued, finding herself still strong to stand and to speak before her audience.  
“The battle ended when that damn dragon Nicol Bolas was felled by his own minion, the God-Eternal Bontu under Liliana’s control,” she added. “But it wasn’t without losses for us. Domri fell, the young fool, by his own hand in a way. An Eternal ripped his spark out as he seemed to be willing to help Bolas. Dack fell in combat to another Eternal. I heard his scream but I couldn’t help him. Countless other poor bastards fell from that damn spell of Bolas’s, and I saw so many stray sparks, so many dead.”  
There was a pause, a hitch in her voice. One death in particular she had yet to mention.  
A flash of memory. A woman in a pink suit screaming. Sparks.  
A familiar pain in her very soul.  
_No no no she’s alive remember?_ she thought to remind herself that Kendrix had returned to life about 20 years before on Mirinoi.  
“Judith, what’s wrong?” asked the undead form of Zordon, her old mentor having been long dead for many years now, the apparition of Big Boss stepping forward a little with him to comfort the purple Ranger.  
She held up her left hand and shook her head, having calmed herself.  
“I saw a soldier named Kytheon Iora – no! Everyone else called him Gideon Jura – sacrifice himself when Liliana turned against Bolas. Liliana finally turned against that dragon, but if it weren’t for Kytheon giving her his protective shield and taking her betrayal unto himself, then, then...” she paused.  
She had been one of the many witnesses to watch Kytheon burn and scream as he died while Liliana glowed from his protection instead, his armor being all that was left of him.  
His dying screams continued to echo in her mind, the memory of watching Kendrix die in a similar fashion come rising up to the surface.  
Zeus understood what she was meaning to say as she was unable to finish her sentence. Then I wouldn’t be here talking to you.  
“I...I saw him die like Kendrix did 20 years ago,” she finally spoke, her voice sounding hoarse again. “I know she’s alive, but I couldn’t stop him. Couldn’t stop her.”  
A single tear fell down her cheek to the floor. Wiping it away she looked back up to Zeus.  
“Father, did you know about Nicol Bolas in any way, shape, or form?” she asked her father now as she regained her determination.  
He sighed and nodded. “Yes, I knew about Bolas,” the god of thunder admitted. “I knew for a long time. I never thought that one of my own children would ever have a spark and the capability to walk the void between planes, but you’ve shattered all that completely. Once I became aware of his existence over 18,000 years ago, I alerted as many of this world’s gods as I could and who would listen to the supposed ‘mad ravings’ of a Hellenistic divine being. Before the Mending, there were a couple tears in the fabric of reality on Earth as well, but those healed by the sacrifice of two other Terran planeswalkers during the Korean War. I’ve been more aware than I’ve let on, and for that I’m sorry Judith.”  
The goddess stood there taking in his words and nodded in understanding. She then turned to her other father figures. “Big Boss, Zordon, were either of you aware of Bolas or at least aware of the multiverse?  
“Always,” spoke Zordon in his gravely, grandfatherly voice. “Even when I fought Rita over 10,000 years ago, I knew about multiversal magics. Bolas’s influence had gotten to the point it was leaking into our plane and I chose you not only for your attitude but because I knew you had a spark. I had been planning on telling you about all of this one day, but that day never came as we both know of course.”  
“I didn’t know about any of this magic stuff but I had dreams that were seriously messed up. Bolas tried to invade my dreams but he couldn’t. Part of me had been holding onto my mentor enough to ward my mind from being manipulated by that overstuffed carpet bag, I guess,” spoke Big Boss before lighting a phantom cigar and taking a drag from it.  
“Still?” asked Zordon as he saw this.  
“What? This is the one I didn’t finish five years ago, thank you very much,” replied Big Boss as he continued to puff away.  
“So you mean to tell us all that there was a threat to the multiverse, to our very world, and that you and some scrappy young heroes took him out? What hogwash,” scoffed Ares from his own seat as he folded his armored arms across his broad chest once the two deceased father figures had finished speaking. Everyone present in the room turned to look at him in shock.  
Judith narrowed her eye at her older brother as she turned to face him. “What...did you just say?”  
“You heard me, child.”  
The air in the room was starting to get warmer in the seconds it took Judy to stride across the room to where the God of War sat.  
“You dare doubt me? Call me a liar?” she asked incredulously. When he nodded with a smile, seeing her as a madwoman, the air around both of them becoming incredibly warmer now.  
“You seem to have gotten into a bad scrap all by yourself. This is the tale of a madwoman, someone who’s brain is just too addled by war,” he added as insult to injury. “You come here without care for decorum and care, those trinkets look fake, like some knockoff - “  
He didn’t finish his sentence as he was seized by Judy at his throat, the air now suffocating if either of them had been mortal and he was visibly sweating, grabbing at her arm. She was now glaring at him, shouting mentally _How dare you doubt me God of War? How dare you have the audacity to deny my truth even when I grieve the loss of friends and two of my Rangers?!_  
Athena, in her own resplendent combat armor, approached the two and told him sternly, “I verified what she said with her friend Andros. Her eye recorded the whole thing and her Rangers were able to contact her to tell her of two more Rangers that passed. How dare you indeed.” She then went to try to pull Judy off of him. “Please dear, calm your rage. He’s a fool and you and I both know this,” she spoke as she was also sweating as well. “Let him go,” she nodded. The lightning commando looked at her sister and then back at him. “Fine,” she hissed as she let him go and punched him square in the jaw.  
“How dare you deny what you’ve heard?! You who has been alive far longer than I and has seen more war than I ever will, dare call me addled by war and who’s gone mad?!” she yelled now as he was now slumped over with a broken jaw. “I’ll have you know that this bow is the best damn bow I’ve ever used! It’s finely crafted and better made than anything you could ever wield yourself!”  
Once she had vented her frustrations at him, the air quickly cooled back down to room temperature, Athena holding onto her injured sister and pulled her back toward the middle of the room.  
Zeus looked at his youngest daughter, still looking full of piss, vinegar and spite and the air around her shimmering like scenery would do on a summer day, and glared at Ares, his mouth bloody and looking murderous at the woman.  
“Enough. I’ve heard and seen enough,” said Zeus at last as both the lightning goddess and the war god had cooled their tempers. “Ares, what she’s said is true, confirmed. You were born well after Bolas was first detected,” the king of the gods said with furrowed brows. “Doubt her again and I won’t stop her kicking your teeth down your throat next time. I’ll even watch her do so while eating popcorn.”  
Ares glared at his sisters, sneered and turned away in disgust.  
“Judith, please go rest. Mourn your dead,” spoke Zeus. “And do keep your watch. As for the rest of us, the fact that we have not been as active as protecting this world as Judith has been and like her soldiers and Rangers have been is appalling and hearing her speak was the wake-up call to action we needed. I’m certain there are other threats out there that right now don’t pose a threat but they very well could. I recommend we get in touch with any divinity that will listen to what she’s said, if not to me. There are seven billion souls on this world, countless more on the other planets mortals are in contact with. It’s our duty to protect them, for what are we without believers?”  
The other gods nodded in agreement, even Ares did begrudgingly. As Judy was given leave to rest, grieve, and decide what to do next, the gods realized that there were far greater threats that existed in the multiverse than the worst intergalactic enemy Judy and her Rangers had ever faced in their lives.

END


End file.
